Refuse grinder and discharge mechanism for stokers



- A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO-ARAN, OF ESSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTINGHOUSE ELEC- TRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F IENNSYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

Application /Ied .Tune 9, 1920. Serial No. 387,612.

To all whomz't may concern.'

Be it known that I, OTTO AnAM,\a citizen of the United States and a resident of Esy sington, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Refuse Grinder and Discharge Mechanism for Stokers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stoker mechanism and particularly to the grate mechanism employed at the discharge end of the grate, and it has for an object to provide a dump-grate mechanism in the form of a clinker grinder, capable of radually discharging the refuse deposited t ereon. from the grate and of -breaking up clinkers accumulating at^the base of the grate.

Vith the usual form of swinging dumpgrate mechanism, huge clinkers tend to accumulate above the dump grate, thus obstruct/ing the passage of refuse thereto and the discharge of refuse from the dump grate. Such clinkers are usually broken up by an iron bar inserted through a poke hole provided in the furnace wall. The bar used for breaking the elinkers is usually heavy and cumbersome, and requires considerable ef fort to manipulate it, the o-peration frequently consuming 'much time and' causing damage to the rear wall and the gra-tes.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dump grate which crushes the clinkers and 'passes them to the ash pit thereby preventing their accumulation upon the dump grate. I

More specifically the object is to provide a dump grate comprising a pairA of grinding rolls and having simple operating mechanism for imparting rotary movement tothe rolls so that the rolls will be alternately rotated in opposite directions. These and other objects are attained by means of Stoker mechanism embodying the features herein described and illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view ofa dump grate and.

clinker grinder mechanism. v

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partially in `seetion, of a dump grate mechanism'showingY its application to a furnace;

In Fig. 2, I show a dump grate lmechanism .applied to the discharge end of the grate 4 Vof a well known type of underfeed Stoker, which includes a moving grate 5 andra rear furnace wall 6 spaced from the moving grate so as to provide a refuse discharge space or p1t 7 into which the refuse is discharged from the moving grate.

'.lhe present dump grate and clinker gr1nder mechanism is located in the pit 7 directly between the moving grate and the rear wall 6, and includes a p air of grinding rolls 8 and 9 disposed in parallel relation and provided with shaftslO and l1 respectively, which are journaled in bearings`12 supported upon channels 13; Each roll comprises a heavy square central shaft 14 having bars or teeth 15 mounted on the four sides thereof in staggered relation, as indicated in Fig. 1. These bars perform the double service of supporting'the fuel and refuse deposited thereon until complete combustion has occurred, and of crushing clinkers yforming thereon or deposited thereupon from the upper grate. To facilitate the crushing action the free ends of the bars are sharpened, as sh are mounted so that when in operation, the bars of one roll are yin a different angular position from the bars of the other roll, and substantially in the relative position indicated in Fig. 2.

During the operation of the rolls, the angular relation of the bars of one roll with respect to those of the other is approximately maintained, as indicated in Fig. 2, by means of a driving mechanism to be hereinafter described.

The rolls 8 and 9 are providedY with ratchet wheels 17 and 18 respectively, secured to their respective shafts and provided with ratchet teeth. The teeth 19 of the wheel 17 are inclined in a direction opposite to that in which the teeth of the wheel 18 are inclined and the wheels are, therefore, adapted to be rotated in opposite directions b means ofpawls 21 and 22, respectively. oth of the pawls are pivoted to the upper end of an operating lever 23 which is pivoted for oscillation upon the shaft 10 carrying the roll 8.` When the lower end pf the lever 23 is moved to the left, the pawl 21 will engage 'the tooth 19 and rotate the wheel 17 in a clockwise direction, and at the same time own at 16, andthe rolls y of movement of the lever 23 while the roll 9 remains stationary. When the lever 23 is returned to its original position by movement of the lever to the rlght, the pawl 22 will engage the' teethl 20 of the wheel 18 and cause counter-clockwise rotation of the roll 9 an angular' distance equal to that through which the roll'8 had been previously rotated, and while the roll 8 remains stationary. During this movement Aof the lever 23, the pawl 21 ratchets over the teeth of the wheel 17 and therefore vimparts no movement thereto.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the rolls are alternately rotated in opposite vdirections so that clinkers deposited thereon are shifted toward the space between the rolls and are crushed between the bars as the rolls rotate. It Willalso be seen that the mechanism is simple and that the degree of rotary movement of the rolls may be varied by varyingthe degree of angular movement of the lever 23.

An operating rod 24 is pivotally attached to the lower end of the lever 23, and extends to the front of the furnace, not shown, where it `may be attached in any suitable manner to one of the reciprocating fuel feeding or agitating rams of the furnace, not shown, so that the movement Aof the rolls is proportional to the movement ofthe said rams.

While I have described and illustrated but' one embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that vari- V -ous changes, modifications, additions and omissions may be made in the apparatus described and illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as set forth by the appended claims;

That I claim is: j 1. Stoker mechanism comprising a. grate, a pair of rotary crushing members' disposed adjacent the discharge end of the grate and 'rota actuating each of adjacent the discharge end ofthe grate and adapted to receive reuse from the grate, and means for actuating the said members adapted to rotate the members in'opposite directions and alternately impart rotarymotion to each member.

4. A clinker grinder comprising a pair of rotary grinding members, a ratchet wheel on each member, an operating -lever and a pawlv for each ratchet wheel associated with the said lever in such manner as to `actuate the said wheels alternately when the said lever is oscillated.

5. A clinker grinder comprising a pair of rotary grinding members and means for rotating them in opposite directions comprising a ratchet Wheel on each member an operatlng lever and a pawl for eachcratchet wheel carried by the said lever, the said pawls and ratchet wheels being so arranged that movement of the lever in one direction causes one pawl to rotate the upper surfaceof one member toward the other member, and movement of the lever in the opposite direction causes theother pawl to rotate the other member Ain the opposite direction. 6. A clinker grinder comprising a pair of rotary grinding members and means for rotating them in opposite directions comprising a ratchet wheel mounted on each member, each having ratchet teeth inclined in opposite directions, a pivoted lever, a pawl for each ratchet wheel pivoted t0 the said lever and arranged with respect to their respective ratchet wheels that movement of the lever in one directionV causes one pawl to operatively engage and rotate one of the ratchet wheels while the other pawl is caused to ratchet over the' teeth of its' respective wheel, and movement of the lever in the opposite direction causes the formerly operative pawl to ratchet over the teeth of its respective wheel while the other awl operatively engages and rotates the ormerly inactive wheel. 7 A clinker grinder comprising a pair of 'rotary grinding members and means for intermittently and alternately actuating the said members, comprising a ratchet Wheel on each member, and oscillatory..A operating lever, and a pawl for each ratchet wheel actuated by the lever.

In testimony whereof, I have. hereunto i sgcribed my name this fourth dayof June, 1

orro ARAM'. ,j 

